Meet the Aries Team: Ali Sousa, Graphic and Digital Designer

Tell us a little about yourself – how long have you been working for Aries? What did you do before joining Aries?

I have been with Aries for a year now – celebrating my work anniversary this month! Prior to joining Aries, I worked as a freelance designer for multiple clients and as a graphic designer at Healthy Living Market & Café in Vermont.

How have your previous roles helped you in your current position?

At my previous position, I had extremely tight deadlines as most promotional events relied on local vendors to confirm inventory days in advance. This has helped me to hone in on my time management skills. As a freelance designer, I learned to switch gears quickly from project to project and set realistic work/life boundaries.

How do you stay up-to-date with trends in your field?

My favorite way of keeping up-to-date with graphic design trends is browsing design related blogs. I also love looking at redesign breakdowns and reading about new campaigns from popular brands.

How do you collaborate with other departments within Aries?

As a designer, it is important that I work with all departments across Aries to ensure brand consistency. I help with everything from sales collateral to presentation decks, and am always up for getting together with other teams to brainstorm new ideas.

Tell me about your department and the people you work most closely with.

Aries Marketing is a powerhouse of a team! We are a lean group, but you would never know it! Together, we have accomplished so much in the small amount of time I have been at Aries, including a recent brand refresh. I am so grateful to work closely with others who embody our company values to a T.

Describe your typical workday.

I’m not much of a morning person, so my typical workday starts with coffee! Once I’ve had caffeine, I usually use the first half of the day to work on bigger or ongoing projects. My first year at Aries heavily centered around creating and updating existing assets for the brand redesign initiative. Since the rollout earlier this year, I have been focused on video content, refreshing our website, and assisting departments on designed collateral as needed. I find it easier to create new content, brainstorm, or record video scripts in the afternoon.

What do you most enjoy about your job? What do you enjoy most about working for Aries?

Aries has given me an outlet to create and innovate through my work. I am given a great deal of artistic freedom in my position, which isn’t always the case everywhere you go!

My favorite part about working at Aries is the amount of support we are given to continue learning and bettering ourselves, both in our career paths and as individuals. We have tons of opportunities to take courses on skills we may be interested in and partake in growing culture groups for wellness, hobbies, and diversity. Currently, I am taking an online UI/UX course to better understand that avenue of design.

What are you currently reading, listening to, or watching?

I recently started listening to Legacy by James Kerr on Audible. Legacy is a breakdown of the world’s most successful rugby team, the New Zealand All Blacks, and what we can learn from them. So far, it is a really inspiring and motivational read! I am also watching Squid Games on Netflix, and highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of horror and incredible cinematography.

Tell me about some of your hobbies/interests outside of work.

Brazilian jiu jitsu! It’s probably my most time-consuming hobby, but I’m addicted to the grind. I train about 6-7 hours a week. My favorite thing about jiu jitsu is the cathartic feeling I get when, I, a small-ish lady can combine technique and leverage to get the upper hand on someone twice my size. There’s also something incredibly satisfying about the mental clarity you are able to achieve by pushing your body to new limits.

Some of my other hobbies are making hot sauce, photography, playing video games, and throwing axes.